Hydrocarbon recovery is a process that by which hydrocarbon are extracted from a subterranean region. Hydrocarbon recovery can include primary recovery and secondary recovery. Primary recovery relies on natural pressure of the hydrocarbons in the subterranean region which allows extracting them without any effort. Once the pressure of the formation decreases, secondary recovery techniques can be employed to further extract hydrocarbons from the subterranean region.
Secondary recovery techniques rely on a supply of external energy into the subterranean region to drive the hydrocarbons to flow from a targeted formation into a well bore for production. In many instances, thermal energy is introduced to the formation, for example, by steam injection or in-situ combustion, to lower the viscosity and enhance the production of the hydrocarbons from the formation.